The Ember Mill Is Open — And So Is The Shadow & Ink Ledger

Hello from Blackvale.

The Ember Mill has stood at the edge of town for over a century. First a working mill. Then a speakeasy. Then a crime scene. Then, for decades, a locked door and a town full of whispers.

On July 28, it opens again. And so does Case No. 002.

The Case of the Ember Mill Haunting is available for preorder today.

Miles Stone didn't plan to be a detective. He especially didn't plan to investigate at a nightclub where someone died on opening night — in front of the entire town, including the owner and former classmate: Theo, who has already called it an accident.

Cressida Vale has already drafted the contract. Miles is going to argue about it. He's not going to win.

Beneath the Ember Mill's new floors: hidden tunnels. 1920s gambling ledgers. A darkness that has nothing to do with ghosts — and everything to do with obsession, envy, and a dream deferred.

Preorder now

Free on Kindle Unlimited at launch. Book 2 in the Vale & Stone series — each book stands alone.

Fans of Louise Penny, Simone St. James, and Richard Osman: welcome.

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There are readers who finish a book and close the cover.

And then there are readers like you.

You're the ones who notice the shadow in the corner before you notice the painting. The ones who wonder what the detective was thinking two chapters before the reveal. The ones who linger in the atmosphere long after the plot has moved on.

The Shadow & Ink Ledger was made for you.

Introducing The Shadow & Ink Ledger

The Shadow & Ink Ledger is my free newsletter — a candlelit corner of the internet for Cozy Gothic Murder Mysteries, Southern Gothic Mysteries, and Suspense Thrillers readers who want more than a release announcement.

Each issue goes somewhere the books can't always go. Behind the scenes of the writing process. Into the world-building details that shaped a setting. Across the craft of building suspense and atmosphere in fiction that lingers.

It's the difference between watching a story from the outside and being let in on the map.

What to Expect When You Join

When you join The Shadow & Ink Ledger, you can expect:

• Behind-the-scenes content from the desk of a working author of Cozy Gothic Murder Mysteries and Southern Gothic Suspense Thrillers

• World-building extras — the details that didn't quite fit in the manuscript but refused to stop existing

• Craft reflections on gothic atmosphere, Southern gothic mystery structure, and the art of the slow reveal

• Early access to new releases, cover reveals, and projects in progress

• Occasional confessions from someone who spends a lot of time in shadowy fictional hallways

This isn't a megaphone. It's a conversation. The kind you have in a candlelit corner when you're the only two people who noticed the same thing.

Ready to Come In?

The candles are already lit.

The Shadow & Ink Ledger is free to join and always will be. No noise, no spam — just a writer who finds the dark corners interesting and wants to share what's there.

Join The Shadow & Ink Ledger here → A little click never hurt anyone.

Mind the fog.

J.P. White